MY wife has got involved in the Royal Highland Education Trust, a voluntary organisation that helps children understand where their food comes from and how it is grown.
Volunteers, such as my wife, escort school parties on trips to farms and agricultural shows and explain farming systems to them. On a recent visit to the Scottish Agricultural College's two dairy herds at the Crichton, on the outskirts of Dumfries, she was taken aback by a comment by one of the teachers.
You see, while one of the dairy herds is run on traditional lines, the other keeps its cows indoors all year round. That prompted the teacher to declare that it was a cruel practice.
Now nothing could be further from the truth, and it inspired me to focus on that issue in this column.
Non-farming folk tend to look at an animal's environment from their own perspective and the misinformed teacher probably thought of those cows, that were never allowed out to grass, as prisoners.
It is important to understand farmers have selectively bred farm animals to be comfortable in the conditions under which they are kept. Those animals that suffer from stress don't perform as well, or become ill, and, as a result, their progeny are not selected as breeding replacements.
Modern, high-performing dairy cows are fragile creatures that don't necessarily enjoy being outside in all weathers.
Apart from that, there is the stress of changing from a winter diet to one of grass in the spring time, and then changing back to winter rations in the autumn.
While spring grass can be fairly nutritious, it soon loses much of its nutritive value as the season progresses. Cows kept indoors all year round, on the other hand, are much better fed and never have to undergo a radical change of diet.
Modern dairy buildings can best be described as cow palaces. They are light, airy and allow cows the freedom to wander as they please between the area where they lie in cubicles and the area where they lounge about and feed.
Their cubicles have very comfortable, foam-rubber mats on which to lie, everywhere is kept spotlessly clean by automatic scrapers that remove their muck, and there are even strategically-sited brushes to rub against when they have an itch.
Those that graze outside during the summer months have to contend with extremes of weather like cold winds and rain, or scorching sun, and also have the chore of walking to and from the fields twice a day to be milked. Not much fun for a cow with an udder full of milk, especially in wet weather when their feet can become injured by trampling on sharp stones concealed in the mud.
No, I can assure readers that if dairy cows had any say in the matter, they would vote for staying indoors all year round.
It's much the same with pigs and poultry that have also been selectively bred for the environment they are kept in.
Hens are a classic example.
While there are new, productive strains being bred for free-range egg production, most modern hybrids shun the great outdoors.
Many free-range production systems are based on large poultry sheds that hold thousands of birds. They may well have the freedom to roam outside, but most prefer to stay indoors in the comfort of the shed, and timidly watch the few hundred adventurous hens that are prepared to venture forth.
As I said, it's all down to the fact they have been bred to be content in a shed, unlike the wild birds that man originally domesticated.
To explain my point more fully – can you imagine the scene as Noah was loading up the Ark, with all the animals coming aboard in pairs?
A drake turns to the duck that is waddling alongside and inquires of his mate: "What's all this about?"
The duck replies: "I'm not really sure, but I think we're going aboard because Noah reckons there's going to be a flood." "So?" replies the drake, "What's the problem – we're ducks, aren't we?"
Yes, we shouldn't look at the lives of animals from a human perspective.
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